This is the couple's first year on the tour, although both have been spectators on the tour in the past.

Now their outdoor oasis will be seen by Crossroads residents.

The garden, which takes up the perimeter and side backyard of the home, was no easy task.

It's all about trial and error, the two said.

"We wanted to plant something to hide the fence," Jan Jacob said, laughing at how the idea started when they first built the home.

The couple's first home on Goliad Highway was not fenced in, so living with a fence was difficult, she added.

Jan Jacob said she imagined the garden becoming as big as it is now, but it has changed a lot over the years, especially in the past five years.

South Texas winters have been rough, especially a winter three years ago when back-to-back overnight freezes killed several of her plants and flowers.

"After that freeze, we drove all over town to see what wouldn't freeze," she said.

Seeing other gardens, they began to change their garden to include plantings that could survive freezes, such as magnolias and Japanese blueberries.

She still has one plant, a variegated ginger, one of her favorites, that is prone to freezing. She has to make sure to cover it when the winter turns bitter cold.

"It has to not freeze for three years for it to bloom," she said. "If it freezes, then it's like you're back at year one."

The backyard came full circle several years ago when the couple had an outdoor kitchen built. This now serves as a centerpiece, bringing together the entire landscape.

The garden helps bring together their love for gardening and birds. The garden is often visited by hummingbirds, and most recently, some summer tanagers.

"This time of the year is the best time of the year to do something in the outdoor kitchen," Bobby Jacob said. "Neighbors and friends like to come over, and they like to see the birds and the yards. It's just a fun place to be."